Manicure accessory



Nov. 14, 1939. A. G. DANA MANICURE ACCESSORY Filed March 2, 1939 m a/wmwzzm Patented Nov. 14, 1939 UNITED STATES MANICURE Arnold G. Dana,

Application March 2,

12 Claims.

This invention relates to manicure accessories and has to do particularly with a toilet appliance for effecting the thorough cleansing of theportions of the fingers beneath the projecting ends 5 of the finger nails. These parts of the fingers are extremely difficult to clean in a thorough manner. Where hard instruments are used the skin is somewhat abraded, also the surface of the finger nail, but at the same time a substantial amount of dirt or dirty skin remains under the edge of the nail where it is unsightly and unhygienic.

One of the objects which I have in view is a simple device which is gentle in its treatment and yet much more efiective than previous devices in removing dirt.

Another object is to provide a device having a textile web adapted to be moistened and to present a portion of its area beneath the end of the finger nail for cleansing ,the space under the nail, said web being adjustable to present new, clean portions thereof for operation.

A further object is toprovide a device of this character having a textile web adapted to be tensioned to a required degree over a support and readily capable of renewal.

To these and other ends, the invention consists in the novel features and combinations of parts to be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. l is a side elevation of a manicure accessory embodying my improvements, showing the cleansing web in the stored-away position;

Fig. 2 isa similar View showing the web in position for use;

Figs. 3 and 4 are, respectively, sections on lines 3-3 and 4-4 of Figs. 1 and 2, and

Fig. 5 shows the cleansing web in association with the stick about which it is adapted to be wrapped or folded.

The particular toilet accessory selected for illustration comprises a holder of elongated form presenting side walls between which there is a holding recess; a textile web adapted to be trained over the upper edge of one of said walls; and a wooden stick or like member about which the web is adapted to be rolled or folded a number of turns and which, with the web, is adapted to be held removably in position between the side walls of the holder.

In the drawing, the holder is shown at It), the web at I I and the wooden stick at I2. The holder I is preferably made of suitable molded plastic material, and it will be observed that it is of generally U-shaped cross-section having a front Wall l3, a rear wall l4 and a connecting portion I ACCESSORY New Haven, Conn. 1939, Serial No. 259,371 (or. 132- 764) at the bottom. The walls 53 and Hi preferably diverge from each other slightly in .an upward direction so as to provide a wedge-shaped, elongated recess for receiving web I! which is folded about the stick l2. Preferably, the upper edge of wall i3 is thinned somewhat as shown at M, and it will be noted that when the parts are in the operative position shown in Figs. 2 and 4, a portion of the web is disposed forwardly of wall It at the front face thereof and is trained over the I upper edge of said wall as shown at it, the upper edge of the wall forming a support therefor. From this edge portion of wall it the web is continucd downwardly at the rear face of the wall and the remaining part thereof is foldedabout stick E2 in the lower part of the recess and held in place frictionally with respect to the holder, although when desired, readily removable from the holder. In the particular case illustrated, the web 'is formed of fairly coarse cotton cloth and the front edge of the web may be provided with a hem ll whereby said edge is somewhat reinforced.

When the device is not in use it is preferable to dispose the web in the manner shown in Fig. 3. It will be noted that in this position the part of the web which in the position of Fig. 4 was in frontof wall 13, has been rolled or folded up and inserted into the upper portion of the tapering recess where it is held in place by friction. In this position the web is conveniently stored and the holder has no appendages which might catch on nearby objects.

In the use of the device, the web is placed in the position shown in Fig. 4 and the web, or at least that portion overlying the supporting edge of the holder, is moistened with soapy water or moistened and rubbed with soap. The finger is then held in the position shown in dotted lines at l8 in Fig. 4, so that the part l6 of the web is engaged with the under-surface of the projecting end of the finger nail. The end of the finger is then rubbed along the textile-covered edge of the holder and the finger is also turned, as required, to bring the cleansing portion of the web under the finger nail at all points in the length of the latter and into the spaces at the ends of the nails.

When this operation is performed the lower end portion of the web is held by the other hand in such a manner as to exert some tension on the web, while the inner end of the web is held in position by the stick in the recess, and it will be apparent that as portions of the web become soiled the web can be adjusted by moving the stick in its recess or by taking out the stick and giving the web a different fold with respect thereto, or otherwise, to present new, clean portions of textile material in position against the thin edge that acts as a web support. The webcan be readily removed for washing the same.

The article herein described permits very thorough cleansing of the ends of the fingers, and yet the action is soft and gentle and does not abrade the skin. The ends of the fingers can be kept in much better condition than has heretofore been possible. Yet, while I have obtained these improvements, I have at the same time provided a toilet accessory which is very simple and which can be produced at a very low cost. The invention provides at slight expense an accessory 'of considerable value for those who are desirous of keeping their finger nails in the best of condition.

While I have described herein a preferred form of the article, it is to be understood that the invention is susceptible of various changes in details and modifications within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A finger nail cleansing appliance comprising a holder having a fiat portion or wall with a free edge, and a flexible web trained over said free edge and adjustable to present fresh portions at said edge, a part of said web being stored within the holder.

2. A finger nail cleansing appliance comprising a holder having a thin wall with a free upper edge, in combination with an adjustable flexible Web extended over said edge and a member about which a portion of the web is folded.

3. A finger nail cleansing appliance, comprising a holder having a thin wall with a free upper edge, in combination with an adjustable flexible web extended over said edge, an elongated thin member about which a portion of said web is folded, and means for positioning said last named member relatively to the holder.

4. A finger nail cleansing appliance comprising a holder having a thin wall with a free upper edge, in combination with an adjustable flexible web extended over said edge, an elongated thin member about which a portion of said web is folded, and means for positioning said last named member relatively to the holder, said means forming within the holder an elongated recess receiving a folded portion of the web.

5. In combination with a thin substantially flat member having a free edge upwardly disposed, a web having a portion extending upwardly at one face of said member, over the free edge and downwardly from the free edge, and means for holding the web at one face of the member so that tension can be applied to the web by a pull thereon at the other side of the member.

6. In combination with a flexible slightly abrasive web and an elongated member about which one end portion of the web is folded in a number of turns, means providing a relatively sharply formed support for an intermediate portion of the web.

7 In combination with a flexible slightly abrasive web and an elongated member about which one end portion of the web is folded in a number of turns, means providing a relatively sharply formed support for an intermediate portion of the web, said last named means comprising a Wall of thin material.

8. In combination with a flexible slightly abrasive web and an elongated member about which one end portion of the web is folded in a number of turns, means providing a relatively sharply formed support for an intermediate portion of the web, said last named means comprising a Wall of thin material, and means forming in connection with said wall a holding means for the folded or rolled up end portion of the web.

9. A nail cleansing appliance comprising a member providing a relatively sharp supporting edge and a flexible web movably mounted in supported relation with respect to said edge.

10. A nail cleansing appliance comprising a projecting sharp support and a textile web adapted to be tensioned over said support.

11. A nail cleansing appliance comprising a holder having an elongated narrow recess in which a rolled web can be wedged.

12. A nail cleansing appliance comprising a rolled web and a holder therefor, said web having a free portion in adjustable cooperative relation to a portion of the holder.

ARNOLD G. DANA. 

